What Las Vegas Can Teach Us About Agent Safety

I've never been much of gambler. However, when I was in Vegas last month, I had some time to kill so I sat down to play a little blackjack since it's the only game I understand. I found a $10 table (I'm such a high roller), and decided to watch for a bit before playing.

The vast majority of the time, I observed hands that had a moderate level of risk. I watched people lose some hands and win some hands, but no one ever won big or lost big. But then I noticed a woman who seemed win hands when she increased her bet and lose when she bet the minimum. She started with $100 and when she left the table an hour or so later, she had won about $1000.

I figured she must have been counting cards, something I had heard of but knew nothing about. Time to hit the Internet! What I learned is that counting cards is merely a method of assessing the risk of both the deck and the individual hand so the player can adjust the bet accordingly.

It occurred to me that the same lesson should be applied to the practice of selling real estate. An important factor in not being a victim of a crime is learning how to assess the risk of each prospect. Make no mistake--most criminals are not stupid. They have trained in their craft for years and have learned how to lure real estate agents into high risk situations. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon that the things a criminal will say to get you alone in house are often similar to what a legitimate buyer will say.

So how can you assess risk? Simple. The following is a easy system for assessing risk. Apply a positive number to some characteristics, apply a negative number to others, and adjust your behavior based on the number. The following are some characteristics and their value:

The Prospect

• The prospect is a stranger -1
• They found me on the Internet -1
• Cash buyer -2
• Looking for a foreclosure -1
• From out of town -1
• Referral from previous client +1
• Close friend or relative referred you +2
• You confirmed the prospect with the referrer +3